Configuring IP SLAs DHCP Operations

Last Updated: March 22, 2011

This module describes how to configure an IP Service Level Agreements (SLAs) Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) operation to measure the response time between a Cisco device and a DHCP server to obtain an IP address.

Finding Feature Information

Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest feature information and caveats, see the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the Feature Information Table at the end of this document.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Information About IP SLAs DHCP Operations

DHCP Operation

DHCP provides a mechanism for allocating IP addresses dynamically so that addresses can be reused when hosts no longer need them. The DHCP operation measures the round-trip time (RTT) taken to discover a DHCP server and obtain a leased IP address from it. IP SLAs releases the leased IP address after the operation.

You can use the RTT information to determine DHCP performance levels.

There are two modes for the DHCP operation. By default, the DHCP operation sends discovery packets on every available IP interface on the router. If a specific server is configured on the router, discovery packets are sent only to the specified DHCP server.

IP SLAs DHCP Relay Agent Options

A DHCP relay agent is any host that forwards DHCP packets between clients and servers. Relay agents are used to forward requests and replies between clients and servers when they are not on the same physical subnet. Relay agent forwarding is distinct from the normal forwarding of an IP router, where IP packets are switched between networks somewhat transparently. Relay agents receive DHCP messages and then generate a new DHCP message to send out on another interface.

The IP SLAs DHCP operation contains a relay agent information option--Option 82--which is inserted by the DHCP relay agent when forwarding client-originated DHCP packets to a DHCP server. Servers recognizing the relay agent information option may use the information to implement IP address or other parameter assignment policies. The DHCP server echoes the option back verbatim to the relay agent in server-to-client replies, and the relay agent strips the option before forwarding the reply to the client.

Option 82 includes three suboptions that convey information known by the relay agent:

circuit-id--identifies the incoming circuit.

remote-id--provides a trusted identifier for a remote high-speed modem.

subnet-mask--identifies the mask of the logical IP subnet from which the relay agent received the client DHCP packet.

How to Configure IP SLAs DHCP Operations

Note

There is no need to configure an IP SLAs responder on the destination device.

Troubleshooting Tips

If the IP SLAs operation is not running and generating statistics, add the verify-data command to the configuration of the operation (while configuring in IP SLA configuration mode) to enable data verification. When enabled, each operation response is checked for corruption. Use the verify-data command with caution during normal operations because it generates unnecessary overhead.

Use the debugipslatrace and debugipslaerror commands to help troubleshoot issues with an IP SLAs operation.

What to Do Next

To add proactive threshold conditions and reactive triggering for generating traps, or for starting another operation, to an IP SLAs operation, see the "Configuring Proactive Threshold Monitoring" section.

To view and interpret the results of an IP SLAs operation use the showipslastatistics command. Checking the output for fields that correspond to criteria in your service level agreement will help you determine whether the service metrics are acceptable.

MIBs

RFCs

RFCs

Title

No new or modified RFCs are supported by this feature, and support for existing RFCs has not been modified by this feature.

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Technical Assistance

Description

Link

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Feature Information for IP SLAs DHCP Operations

The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

The Cisco IOS IP SLAs Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) operation allows you to schedule and measure the network response time between a Cisco device and a DHCP server to obtain an IP address.

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Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.